There are times, in Visio, when you just need to ensure that the text in a primary shape is synchronised with the text in different secondary shapes … even if they are on different pages of a Visio document. My previous article, Forcing Display Update of Inherited Data Values , describes a method of synchronising the values in Shape Data rows from a central data source in the document, and that allows for the values to be viewed and edited in multiple pages or shapes. However, the text of a Visio shape is different because it is not stored in a single ShapeSheet cell, so how can you display the text of one shape in another?
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Using Custom Fill Patterns from a List
A reader asked how to fill a shape with a custom fill pattern from a fixed list in of a shape. They had no trouble with the first 25 standard fill patterns, but couldn’t figure out how to apply a custom pattern. So, I shall try to explain how this can be done …
[Read more…] about Using Custom Fill Patterns from a ListVisio in Microsoft 365? What’s that?
Now that a version of Visio is being rolled out as part of the commercial subscription of Microsoft 365, what is the difference between it and the Visio Web App that is delivered by Visio Plan 1 and Visio Plan 2 subscriptions?
Moreover, can a Visio diagram created by an M365 user be round-tripped with Visio Web App and Visio Desktop App users?
First of all, lets review the editions of Visio currently available:
- Visio in Microsoft 365 – a web app that is included in M365 for business
- Visio Web App – a web app that requires an extra Visio Plan 1 subscription
- Visio Desktop App – a web-delivered Windows app that requires an extra Visio Plan 2 subscription (includes Visio Web App)
- Visio Professional – a Windows app for a one-time purchase, previously installed via a msi package, now Click-to-Run and called LTSC
- Visio Standard – a Windows app for a one-time purchase, previously installed vi a msi package, now Click-to-Run and called LTSC
So, is that clear? The good news is that all editions use the same file format, and can be viewed by anyone, with the relevant access permission, if the Visio document is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Online/Teams. This Visio Viewer also provides visibility of the Shape Data, Hyperlinks and Comments. It also has a JavaScript API which makes it extremely useful for developing custom web pages in SharePoint Online/Teams.
[Read more…] about Visio in Microsoft 365? What’s that?Fixing the sub-shape layer assignments of Visio shapes
I was preparing a new update of my Layer Manager tool, and was constantly coming across a lack of quality control in the sub-shape layer assignment in a number of the master shapes in Microsoft provided stencils. I have mentioned this to Microsoft as a bug before but the problem still persists in Visio for the Desktop today.
The layering capability in Visio is pretty comprehensive but can become complicated to manage … without a third-party tool such as Layer Manager. This is because every element in a Visio page can be assigned to zero, one or multiple layers, and this applies to all sub-shapes within a group shape. So, it is possible to assign layers to a group shape without assigning any layers to the sub-shapes. This means that these shapes are always visible and printable, even if you have hidden the layers assigned to the group. This is exactly the issue with a number of the master shapes in Visio, as in the following Home Plan example available from the Sample Diagrams / Maps and Floor Plans category
[Read more…] about Fixing the sub-shape layer assignments of Visio shapesAutomatic Line and Segment Lengths in Visio
Many years ago, I wrote some VBA code to calculate the length of a multi-segment line in Visio, see Automating Area and Perimeter Length Shape Data , but Microsoft have since provided a handy ShapeSheet function, PATHLENGTH(…), to do the same without any VBA. The function is described on one of the pages in Visio ShapeSheet Functions O-R , but here is one way that it can be incorporated into a useful shape for, say, cabling or piping, and thus be available in Shape Reports. Moreover, the Shape Data can display the length of each of the segments in the line, in addition to the total length.
Testing Regional Settings in Visio
There are times that I have been caught out by assuming that everyone speaks “proper” English, like what I do (sic), and forgetting that there are other languages with their own formatting conventions. I think most of the world is bemused at the USA date format where they put the month before the day and the year. So illogical to everyone else, and I can’t help thinking that it was done on purpose just to catch us Brits out, like when they decided to drive on the wrong side of the road just to make it more difficult to sell cars across the border. It seems that some parts of Visio get confused if I enter the dates in the correct “dd/mm/yyyy” format, so I now type dates in the “d mmm yyyy” format in the Shape Data window calendar control because, at least, that always works. Also Visio‘s internal units are inches, and every time I see it referred to as US Units, rather than the Imperial Units that I grew up with, makes me think “so, this is what it has come to!”.
So today I was embarrassed by a Norwegian client because I forgot (again) to take extra care when using the RGB(…) function. The result was that the displayed colours were appearing black in Norwegian (and doubtless many other languages), but correctly grey (gray if you are in the USA), blue, green and yellow in English (both UK and US).
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